Auto Dealership, Retail Arlington Heights, IL – Early morning blaze at car dealership quickly put out by sprinkler system September 12, 2016 viking210 An early morning blaze Friday at an Arlington Heights car dealership was quickly extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system, officials with the Arlington Heights Fire Department said. The Arlington Heights Fire Department responded to a call from a passerby who reported seeing a fire just after midnight at the Arlington Nissan dealership at 1100 W. Dundee Road, Battalion Chief Tom Zerfass said. The fire is thought to have been started by a car that was brought in for service, and was parked in one of the warehouse bays, Zerfass said. The building was empty at the time, Zerfass said, and there were no injuries reported.
Retail, Shopping Mall West Burlington, IA – Jewelry store fire in shopping mall extinguished with help from sprinkler system September 10, 2016 viking210 A small fire caused occurred at Kay’s Jewelry Store about 7 p.m. Wednesday at Westland Mall. West Burlington Fire Chief Shaun Ryan said his firefighters responded to the mall about 7 p.m. on the report of smoke coming from a storage facility on the second-floor of the store. He said sprinkler systems activated and extinguished most of the fire by the time fire crews arrived. He said firefighters were able to knock down the remainder of the small fire within minutes. The entire mall was evacuated for about 90 minutes while firefighters removed smoke from the area, he said. The mall’s alarm system is on the same circuit so fire alarms went off throughout the building. He said the cause of the investigation remains under investigation. No injuries were reported. The Burlington Fire Department assisted West Burlington at the scene.
Other-Government/Military Wilmette, IL – Storage room fire at public works garage controlled by sprinkler system; Damage minimized September 9, 2016 viking210 Wimette’s fire chief is crediting sprinklers for keeping a Tuesday storage room fire at the Wilmette public works garage from potentially engulfing the entire building. The garage at 711 Laramie Ave. in west Wilmette sustained an estimated $15,000 damage in the incident, which was called in as an alarm shortly after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to Fire Chief Mike McGreal, but the cost could have gone much higher, he said Sept. 7. He praised village administrators and fire prevention bureau officials who decided a little over eight years ago, at the time the village added an addition to the public works building, to retrofit the garage with a sprinkler system. “They didn’t have to, but they had the forethought to do it,” McGreal said. “That is a multimillion dollar facility, plus the vehicles in the garage that are very expensive, and very difficult to replace. In minutes, this could have been a total loss if there hadn’t been a sprinkler system.” Had flames from the storeroom not been dampened by sprinklers, they could have spread to the building’s wooden roof, he said. The 15,400-square-foot public works garage houses most of the village’s public works vehicles and equipment, including front end loaders, back hoes, dump trucks and sewer vac trucks, he said. Wilmette’s daily public works services would have suffered significant problems if that equipment had been lost in a fire, he said. McGreal said fire crews that responded to the alarm found the sprinklers in use and smoke coming out the garage’s main bay. They upgraded the alarm, which called in help from the Winnetka, Northfield, Evanston, Glenview, Skokie, Morton Grove and Highland Park fire departments. However, fire crews found most of the fire under control in a storage room used by the village’s sewer department, where it appeared to have started, he said. Crews put out the remaining flames, and the incident was cleared by 4:15 p.m. There were no injuries, Engineering and Public Works Director Brigitte Berger said Tuesday. Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the fire, McGreal said. “All’s well that ends well,” McGreal said. “They’re back in business and they’re cleaning it up now.”
Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant Madison, WI – Overnight restaurant fire contained by sprinkler system; Business reopens next day September 9, 2016 viking210 An automatic sprinkler system saved a Downtown restaurant from significant damage after a kitchen fire early Wednesday. Aichan Weng, who goes by “Wendy,” said she should have her restaurant, Dragon I, 422 State St., back open by 2 p.m. Thursday after meeting with her insurance adjuster and the city health department. Her insurance agent Brad Dillman of Dillman Insurance said Weng just needs to replace a sprinkler head and clean up a bit. A passerby noticed a fire inside Dragon I just after 12:30 a.m. and called 911, said fire department spokesperson Cynthia Schuster. The caller said the fire was in the back kitchen and that the sprinkler system had already been activated. Upon arrival, firefighters saw the fire and broke a glass door to enter the restaurant, Schuster said in a release. In the kitchen, they found a large pot with something burning inside and around it. They believe what was burning was a plastic cutting board laid on top of the pot while the stove burner was still set on “low,” she said. Firefighters extinguished the fire, and turned off the burner and the automatic sprinklers. “Fire damage had been well contained thanks to the automatic sprinkler,” Schuster said, adding that there was no water damage to the restaurant because of a floor drain under the activated sprinkler head. Weng, who also owns Ichiban on Park Street, bought Dragon I in 2014 from Ray Sze, who also used to own Nam’s Noodle restaurant on Regent Street. She said she couldn’t yet put a price tag on any damage to the restaurant. “It’s no big deal,” she said. “It’s so lucky there are no big problems.” The 4-year-old Dragon I serves all types of Southeast Asian cuisine: Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Singaporean and Malaysian. It also offers some Korean, Japanese and Chinese selections.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business Portland, ME – Sprinkler system contains overnight bank fire; Business opens as usual in morning September 9, 2016 viking210 About two dozen firefighters responded to the Norway Savings Bank building early Wednesday morning for a fire. A bank spokeswoman said the bank will open as usual Wednesday. The bank’s drive-up opened at 8 a.m. and its lobby will open at 8:30 a.m., she said. Karen Hakala said bank officials were thankful that no one was in the building when the fire broke out and that no one was hurt. The fire started on the third floor near a water heater, Deputy Fire Chief Shawn Neat said. Crews were called to the building on Congress Street around 2:45 a.m.
Residential, Residential High Rise Nashville, TN – Elevator motor fire in high-rise condominium building extinguished by sprinkler system September 8, 2016 viking210 Firefighters responded to a downtown Nashville condo building after an elevator motor caught fire. The fire broke out at Virdian Condos on the 400 block of Church Street around 3:15 Tuesday afternoon. Crews on scene said that an elevator motor caught fire. It was put out by the sprinkler system before firefighters got on scene. No one was injured during the incident.
Residential, Single Family Home Turlock, CA – Residential garage fire kept from spreading to home by sprinkler system September 8, 2016 viking210 The Turlock Fire Department responded to a fire early Sunday morning that was sparked by a malfunction in a refrigerator in the garage. The residents were all able to get out of the home safely, thanks in part to their smoke alarm and residential sprinkler system, the fire department reported. The fire was reported shortly before 5:30 a.m. Sunday at 1882 Moonbeam Way. The first engine to arrive at the scene found smoke coming from the garage area of the two-story home. Firefighters found the fire in the garage coming from a refrigeration unit. The fire was kept from spreading to the house by the residential fire sprinkler system. Turlock firefighters went to work, stretching fire hose, ventilating the home, extinguishing the fire, and performing a search to ensure the home was clear of any other occupants or pets. “Quick extinguishment prevented thousands of dollars worth of damage to the home,” said Turlock Fire Chief Robert Talloni. The fire spread to some nearby storage items and a vehicle parked inside the garage. Turlock Fire responded with two chief officers and four Engine companies. Turlock Rural and Ceres Fire Department provided city coverage during the fire. The fire department said the event was a good example of the benefits of having a working smoke alarm. “The residential sprinkler system and working smoke detectors were instrumental in giving the family time to safely escape the home,” the fire department stated in a news release.
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Gallipolis Ferry, WV – Sprinkler System helps put out fire at chemical plant; No injuries September 8, 2016 viking210 Officials at the ICL-IP America plant in Mason County say a leak occurred in the phosphorous unloading station at around noon Wednesday sparking a fire. The blaze at the Gallipolis Ferry facility was put out by a sprinkler system plant personnel. There were no injuries, officials said. A shelter-in-place covering a two-mile radius was was issued for about 45 minutes before being lifted at just after 1 p.m. A statement from the company it would “investigate the cause and develop preventative actions.” ICL-IP added phosphorous fires create a great deal of smoke. The company reported additional information to the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Air Quality Wednesday afternoon. It said the leak occurred from a trailer-mounted iso-tank. The material was white phosphorous. The company suspects a failed gasket. The DEP has submitted additional questions about the size of the tank and the amount of phosphorous released. Two DEP inspectors, one from the Division of Air Quality and one from the Division of Water and Waste Management’s Environmental Enforcement group, are scheduled to be at the plant site Thursday. The ICL-IP America website produces drilling fluids and flame retardants that are bromine-based.
Office Building, Retail New Canaan, CT – Fire in historic downtown commercial building contained by sprinkler system September 7, 2016 viking210 New Canaan firefighters on Monday night put out a blaze that had broken out in the third story of a commercial building at the corner of on Main Street and East Avenue, prompting emergency responders to close the area to motor vehicle traffic. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the fire at 96 Main St., though it appeared to have started in the attic of the prominent downtown building, according to Fire Chief Jack Hennessey. “Sprinklers assisted with putting out the fire,” Hennessey told NewCanaanite.com. “The sprinklers saved the day. It could have been a very, very serious fire. Right now we are making sure that we got all of the fire and we are dealing with the water damage from the sprinkler system.” No one was hurt in the blaze, which drew multiple New Canaan Police and Fire Department vehicles—including Engine 1 and Ladder 2—at about 7:48 p.m., officials said. The full extent of the damage could not immediately be assessed, Hennessey said, though it included structural damage in the attic and water damage on the third floor and possibly second floor. “It’s dark and it’s still a mess, so it’s hard to tell,” he said. The smell of smoke wafted down from the building on this windy Labor Day night, as some dozen people milled about the street and sidewalk below. Police closed Main Street between Locust and East Avenues, and also directed eastbound traffic on East Avenue back down away from the scene. The 1912-built, brick-exterior building—long known as the “Wire Whisk” space and currently occupied by both New Canaan Nails & Spa and Kaahve coffee shop on the ground floor facing Main Street, and Cava restaurant on a lower level around Forest Street—is known to longtime locals as the former base of Elliot Noyes & Associates, named for the Harvard Five architect who worked and resided in New Canaan.
Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential Pacific, WA – Cooking fire at senior apartments extinguished by sprinkler system September 7, 2016 viking210 Firefighters from the Valley Regional Fire Authority quickly responded and contained an unattended cooking fire at the Rainier Vista Apartments, 134 3rd Ave. SE, Pacific, early Saturday afternoon. There were no reported injuries. Responding to an automatic fire alarm at 1:45 p.m., the initial unit found smoke showing with a possible fire from the third floor. Firefighters soon discovered the source, an unattended cooking fire, which the automatic sprinkler system extinguished within several minutes. The fire was contained to the original unit. The residence was unoccupied at the time of the fire. About a half dozen rooms and residents were affected by ongoing water mitigation efforts.
